What are the things which Linux newbie should know befor taking the dip?

[iampriteshdesai]

Having used Ubuntu for over a year now, I realized that my user experience for the first few months would have been a lot easier had I known few things, such as Synaptic, Wine etc. What according to you would be those few things which would help linux noobs?

[Bölvaður]

in all fairness it is just having the will of trying to find new ways of doing things. Forget what ever you used to do and the programs you used.

But if I am forced to do a list:


Look through Applications, Places and System
Go to Ubuntuforums.org and check random posts just to learn
Synaptic, add/remove, apt-get

[cardinals_fan]

man

[Valok]

First off apt-get and the synaptic are a must.

After that I would say WINE, or a windows virtualization. Knowing that the familiar isn't too far away can be a good crutch for people new and just crossing over.

[ezsit]

First and foremost, a new-to-linux user should know themselves. By this, I mean, take a self-inventory and figure out what type of user YOU are before making any decisions.

Ask yourself what you want from the experience of experimenting with Linux, what you hope to gain, what you currently require from your computer and operating system and whether those needs can be satisfied without Windows (or OSX). Ask yourself whether you are the type of person who loves to tinker, the type of person who enjoys troubleshooting, the type of person who is not affraid to get to a command line and type.

A lot of talk is made of "free" software. Ubuntu is free and the license allows anybody to use, copy, and distribute the software, all good things. However, the time needed to teach yourself a new operating system is not free. Ask yourself whether you can commit time and effort to learning a new system. Does this expense of time and effort justify the switch? For me it did years ago and I've been running Ubuntu and other Linux flavors since about 2004. Be honest with yourself, and better yet, get a spare machine to test the waters before committing your main computer to a new and untried endeavor. New operating systems are not for everone no matter what the many Ubuntu fanboy users like to say.

Most of all, have fun and be productive. :D

[ghindo]

Read the documentation.

[ubuntu-freak]

They should know it's not our fault that most Windows apps and games don't run natively in Linux. I swear some people think it's the responsibility of an OS to make them run, not the actual app or game developers.

Anyway, yeah, they should know this place exists and that it's here to help them. :)

[Archmage]

Linux is NOT Windows.

If you have three years experience with Windows. Don't assume that Linux will be easy to handle. It may take up to three years till you know Linux like you are now knowing Windows.

[Noblacktie]

I think the most important thing a Linux newbie should know before taking the dip is how to use Google search.

[floatingpoint]

Before I made the switch (from windows), I saw quite a few whine threads, and I'll admit that this gave me second thoughts. But sitting up late one night with a friend (a mac user), we came to the conclusion that these people were blatantly lazy. That night I threw myself in at the deep end and installed ubuntu, deleting windows in the process. That was only a week or so ago, but I haven't had cause to look back.

All you need to do well with linux is the initiative to search for solutions, willingness to learn, and if in doubt, ask for help on these forums (although other forums are available!).

[glotz]

The link in my sig.

[oedipuss]

Wine might be a bit dissapointing for someone new, though.
I'd say the most important thing you need to know is that linux expects a different way of installing software than windows, and while there are similar ways (search the net, find X software, attempt to install it) they generally are far more difficult.

Another thing might be the file&directory structure. No one would expect a newbie to know more than what nautilus or the places menu shows, but it's kind of reassuring to know about it. There's root / , home/username for your stuff, /media/ for where disks and cds mount, plus a very brief description of what other directories are for. It's not that important to know these things from the start, but it might make it easier knowing that there isn't a Program Files equivalent, that files starting with . are hidden, where your disks really are (in case some program doesn't display the expected places bookmarks) or what "mounting" is.


About wine, I'd say you'd do best to assume it doesn't work at all at first, and leave it for later. You sacrifice some familiarity with software that might work 100% in wine, but you 'll discover other software, unfamiliar but perhaps better or at least usable for your needs, and when you do try out wine you'll have the benefit of some experience with the terminal and the way linux does things. And you won't expect too much of it.

[deepclutch]

As somebody said :
Linux is NOT Windows - http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm

[tsali]

deleted

[73ckn797]

Read documentation and stickies. Look around in Ubuntu thoroughly, get familiar with what you have available "out of the box".

[jpaugh64]

They should know it's not our fault that most Windows apps and games don't run natively in Linux. I swear some people think it's the responsibility of an OS to make them run, not the actual app or game developers.


What do you expect? They're all used to blaming Windows! And we all know what Windows is like! ](*,)

[Thelasko]

This doesn't apply to Linux as a whole, but for Ubuntu...

Only one thing. (http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/installingsoftware)
I've found that most problems with Ubuntu stem from new users not having this information.

I never use Wine, I don't recommend it to others. It works, I just don't have a use for it. I'm also afraid that if you introduce it to new users, they will come do depend on it.

Reading documentation/man pages is not necessary. I never do it, (feel free to have fun with that one) most things are pretty intuitive if you use the GUI. I don't think new users should start off using the command line. It's best to change one thing at a time.

[73ckn797]

This doesn't apply to Linux as a whole, but for Ubuntu...

Only one thing. (http://www.psychocats.net/ubuntu/installingsoftware)
I've found that most problems with Ubuntu stem from new users not having this information.

I never use Wine, I don't recommend it to others. It works, I just don't have a use for it. I'm also afraid that if you introduce it to new users, they will come do depend on it.

Reading documentation/man pages is not necessary. I never do it, (feel free to have fun with that one) most things are pretty intuitive if you use the GUI. I don't think new users should start off using the command line. It's best to change one thing at a time.


+1
There you go! Nothing else needs to be said.

[mamamia88]

just know that these forums will always be willing to help you out if you have a problem and you'll be fine